Portland Is Going To Generate Its Electricity From Water Pipes

Lucid Energy has designed the LucidPipe Power System that aims at harnessing the flow of water occurring through the municipal pipelines of big cities. The water is destined for a number of uses, however, its flow can be primarily used for hydroelectric power. Portland, Oregon has become the latest city to have installed this particular system.

LucidPipe basically replaces an existing stretch of gravity-fed conventional pipeline, which is being used for the transportation of water. When water makes its way through the pipe, it subsequently turns an assembly of 4 turbines measuring 42 inches each that has been connected to a generator located on the outside of the pipe. The turbine’s presence doesn’t restrict the water flowing rate by any considerable amount, so in a nutshell, the pipe’s efficiency remains unchanged.

The Portland system is worth 200kW and received its financing by Harbourton Alternative Energy and had the installation completed at the end of December, 2014. As of now, the system is undergoing a number of efficiency and reliability tests. These tests pertain to the sensors along with the smart control system that has been incorporated into it. The system will begin working at full power in March.

Once the functioning begins, it will be cranking about 1,100 megawatt hours of energy annually that is enough for 150 homes. Over the course of next 20 years it will also be able to generate almost $2million in energy sales to the Portland General Electric. Harbourton has plans of sharing this with the Portland Water Bureau and City of Portland in order to cut down on operational costs. Once the project ends, the right to purchase it outright will rest with Portland Water Bureau along with the authority over all the energy being produced by the system.

LucidPipe Power System is one of its kind in Portland as of now. If proven successful, others will definitely follow in its footsteps. Watch the video below and share your thoughts with us.